This was supposed to be a make-or-break year for Rams quarterback Sam Bradford, but he couldn’t make it past the opening drive of Saturday’s preseason game against the Browns to see it through.

With a little more than eight minutes left in the first quarter, Bradford was hit by Armonty Bryant and after attempting to get up, quickly fell to the ground, writhing in pain. He later limped off the field on his own power, and initial tests on the knee led him to believe that he did not sustain any ligament damage. But Bradford, who was making his second preseason start since tearing his left anterior cruciate ligament last October, was of concern to Rams officials.

Seventy-five high school players from Ferguson, Mo., reportedly received tickets from the St. Louis Rams for their preseason game against the Packers on Saturday. (Jamie Squire, Getty Images)

More than a week after Michael Brown, an unarmed black teenager, was shot and killed by a police officer in Ferguson, Mo., the unrest in the St. Louis suburb reached its worst level yet. Protesters took to the street again on Sunday to voice their outrage, using gunfire, hurling firebombs, rocks and even Molotov cocktails at police officers, who responded with tear gas, smoke bombs, rubber bullets, and a call for hundreds of more officers in riot gear to join the fight.

The clashes may be in Missouri, but they’ve affected nearly every town in the United States, leading to protests in various cities and making citizens question their own town’s law enforcement strategy as well as ongoing racial tensions around the country.

BRONCOS CONFIDENT THEY CLOSED THE GAP WITH SEAHAWKS
The Broncos addressed needs, comparing favorably to AFC power New England and to NFC beast Seattle, but not to San Francisco. Denver filled a void in the first round without panicking. If cornerback Bradley Roby matures into an impact player by December, Denver’s draft will be a success. The Broncos need Roby to contribute as a rookie because of Chris Harris’ recovery from knee surgery and Aqib Talib’s history of injuries.—Troy E. Renck, The Denver Post

BROCK OSWEILER SET TO GRADUATE FROM ARIZONA STATE
On Monday morning, Osweiler worked out with the Broncos as their backup quarterback. Meeting, drills and lining up the No. 2 offense to practice plays against “air” or no defense. Then weights, conditioning, shower and fly out to Phoenix where thanks to taking 21 credit hours online in his past two offseasons with the Broncos, Osweiler will walk in the Arizona State commencement ceremony Monday night in Tempe. His degree is in interdisciplinary studies, which is a 50-50 split of political science and sociology.—Mike Klis, The Denver Post

NATE IRVING IS STARTING MIDDLE LINEBACKER; EMMANUEL SANDERS SIGNS
Denver drafted LSU’s Lamin Barrow in the fifth round, but he’s a weakside linebacker trying to grow into a middle man and probably will need at least one year on special teams. And so middle linebacker belongs to Irving. He played well in relief of Von Miller at strongside linebacker last year. Irving needs to win the two-down “Mike” role for the Broncos this year.

The Broncos signed free-agent wide receiver Emmanuel Sanders to a three-year, $15 million contract and followed that by drafting large-size wideout Cody Latimer, a second-round pick who will get a four-year contract.—Mike Klis, The Denver PostRead more…

If you look closely at the Broncos’ regular-season schedule this year, you’ll notice they play sets of non-division games against the NFC East (New York Giants, Dallas Cowboys, Mike Shanahan’s Washington Redskins, Philadelphia Eagles) and the AFC South (Indianapolis, Tennessee, Houston, Jacksonville).

According to the NFL Record and Fact Book, the Broncos next year will play non-division sets against the AFC East (Yes, another game against New England, plus Miami, New York Jets and Buffalo) and NFC West (San Francisco, Seattle, St. Louis, Arizona).

Pay attention, then, to the Broncos’ preseason schedule this year when they play San Francisco, Seattle, St. Louis and Arizona.

Stan Kroenke, left, with his son, Josh Kroenke during a shootaround with the Nuggets before a playoff game with the Golden State Warriors. (John Leyba, The Denver Post)

In seeking upgrades to its NFL home, the Edward Jones Dome, the St. Louis Rams asked their local government for just about everything, including a retractable roof. The estimated cost to fulfill the Rams’ wish list came to $700 million.

The local government, more specifically the St. Louis Convention and Visitors Commission, informed the Rams on Friday it would not be funding such a proposal.

“Everybody’s on the same page,” Jeff Rainford, chief of staff for St. Louis mayor Francis Slay, told the Associated Press. “It was a no-brainer. There was nobody in St. Louis who thought that the Rams proposal was a good idea, other than the Rams.”

The Broncos did not select an inside linebacker in the draft. They did have Georgia’s Alec Ogletree rated No. 1 on their inside linebacker board and LSU’s Kevin Minter was No. 2. Ogletree’s past character issues off and on the field, though, caused the Broncos to take defensive tackle Sylvester Williams with their No. 28 overall pick.

Ogletree went No. 30 to the St. Louis Rams, whose coach Jeff Fisher has never shied away from character problems. See Adam “Pacman” Jones, Albert Haynesworth and Cortland Finnegan while Fisher was coaching at Tennessee.

The Broncos did sign inside backer Stewart Bradley from free agency but he was a reserve the previous two years with the Arizona Cardinals and received a “back-up” deal of one-year for $1.1 million.

Josh McDaniels, the most reviled head coach in Broncos history, becomes the St. Louis Rams’ offensive coordinator. He finishes the season with the Rams, who average an NFL-worst 12.1 points per game while McDaniels turns Sam Bradford, the NFL’s Offensive Rookie of the Year in 2010, into the 30th ranked passer.

And today, McDaniels may well be rewarded for that horrific coaching season by getting a Super Bowl ring?

The Broncos on Monday learned who they’ll face next season, home and away, after the NFL released each team’s opponents. The full schedule with days and times will be released later, likely in the spring.

But the Broncos, coming off an 8-8 season as AFC West champs, will face another tough slate next season, including games against the Steelers, Saints, Ravens and Patriots.

St. Louis Rams wide receiver Brandon Lloyd (83) celebrates with teammates after a seven-yard touchdown catch against the Cleveland Browns in the second quarter of an NFL football game on Sunday, Nov. 13, 2011, in Cleveland.

We can discontinue the Brandon Lloyd Watch.

The former Broncos receiver caught his 30th pass of the season for the St. Louis Rams today, officially upgrading the pick the Broncos will receive in next year’s draft to a 5th rounder. The Broncos would have received a sixth-round pick from the Rams had Lloyd caught fewer than 30 passes after the mid-October trade.

Lloyd’s 30th catch for the Rams came on a 16-yard touchdown pass from Sam Bradford.

In a game pitting the Broncos’ two most recent fired head coaches against each other, the Washington Redskins and head coach Mike Shanahan defeated the St. Louis Rams and offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels, 17-10.

The Redskins led 17-0 after three quarters before McDaniels’ offense finally did something. Still, the Rams finished with just 12 first downs and 172 yards of total offense. McDaniels’ Rams are now 0-4; Shanahan’s Redskins are 3-1.

Can Michael Vick lead a star-studded Philadelphia Eagles team to the NFC championship game?

The Denver Post on Thursday will release a 16-page Broncos and NFL preview, breaking down team needs and John Elway’s vision for where the team will head. Find it in a special print section and online at denverpost.com/broncos.

Their offensive plans, which now include QB Kevin Kolb throwing to a $120 million receiver in Larry Fitzgerald, took a hit when RB Ryan Williams suffered a ruptured tendon in his knee in the preseason. Their two-deep is a huge question mark. Former Pro Bowl safety Adrian Wilson tore a biceps tendon, and they lack a top-shelf pass rusher. Prediction: 9-7

St. Louis Rams

They have a potential franchise QB in Sam Bradford, who was cocooned in two-tight end and two-back looks last season as a rookie, but will not have that luxury this year in Josh McDaniels’ more open formations. They haven’t shown they can protect their most prized player in this preseason, and their run defense is an enormous question mark. Prediction: 6-10

Richard Quinn, the Broncos’ second-round draft pick in 2009 who entered camp as the expected starter as the blocking tight end, and Dan Gronkowski, who entered camp as the starting “receiving” tight end, are about to get some serious competition.

The Broncos had also agreed to terms with former Carolina tight end Dante Rosario pending his physical tonight, but they have signed St. Louis Rams tight end Daniel Fells, according to NFL sources.

In a perfect world for the Broncos, who need help in the defensive front, they would have been able to bring defensive tackle Justin Bannan back. But free agency is an imperfect world and it’s clear Bannan will have too many suitors for the Broncos to get in the mix.

There was Nuggets’ owner Stan Kroenke getting approval to become owner of the NFL St. Louis Rams. As Kroenke was getting the votes inside a large conference room, former Nuggets’ center Dikembe Mutombo was conspicuously standing in the Ritz-Carlton hotel lobby.

Atlanta — Albert Pujols isn’t the only St. Louis sports figure going for the Triple Crown (come on, Joey Votto! The heck with driving the ball, kid. Hit for average).

By about this time tomorrow, Stan Kroenke should clinch the Triple Crown of sports ownership. Kroenke, in the name of Kroenke Sports Enterprises, has owned the NHL Colorado Avalanche and NBA Denver Nuggets since 2000. He has owned 40 percent of the NFL St. Louis Rams since 1995.

Broncos rookie quarterback Tim Tebow has yet to throw a pass in an NFL game, but he is already No. 1 in the league in at least one category.

The rookie, one of the two first-round picks for the Broncos in this past April’s draft, had the league’s top-selling jersey between April 1 and June 30. The figures were tabulated only for merchandise sold on the league’s website — NFLShop.com.

Tebow was the only Broncos’ player among the top 25. Currently he is the Broncos’ No. 3 quarterback behind Kyle Orton and Brady Quinn.

Detroit Lions defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh, who was the second pick of the April draft, was the only other rookie among the top 10 sellers. Dallas Cowboys wide receiver Dez Bryant was the other rookie among the top 15.

Tebow’s power to pull people to cash registers won’t help the Broncos’ bottom line more than any other team in the league since the NFL’s 32 teams currently divide all merchandise revenue evenly, but it does show Tebow’s star power is substantial even before he has appeared in a regular-season game.

Former Broncos wide receiver Brandon Marshall, now with Miami, was at No. 16 on the list.

Nicki Jhabvala is a Broncos beat writer for The Denver Post. She was previously the digital news editor for sports. Before arriving in Denver, she spent five years at Sports Illustrated working primarily as its online NBA editor. She also spent two years as a home page editor at the New York Times.